Pope Francis, Archbishop Fernandez, and the question of discipline
Doctrine is important—even supremely so—but it is important in an “Is the Earth still orbiting the sun?” sort of way. The crisis of abuse and coverup in the Church is more of the “Is the house on fire?” variety.
Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández giving a talk in March 2020. (Image: YouTube)
There’s been a lot of hootin’ an’ hollerin’ over the appointment last week of Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández to the top spot at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. I get it, I really do. Frankly, it’s tempting to take it as a master class in trolling. Let’s resist the temptation, or at least refuse to take the bait. Instead, consider the thing with some cold analytical acuity and brass-tacks practicality.
Pope Francis finally has “his” theologian in the job now, and that’s fine. Only, what is the job for Fernández?
In his letter laying out the mission profile for Fernández, Francis says he doesn’t want the DDF prefect to tie up the dicastery’s resources in doctrinal police work but prefers that he foster theological dialogue. A doctrinal watchdog that doesn’t worry overmuch about doctrine doesn’t sound like the most useful outfit imaginable.
It’s also the case that Pope St. John Paul II called Joseph Ratzinger to Rome and kept him there largely against Ratzinger’s druthers if not exactly against his will for nearly a quarter-century, precisely because he knew that Ratzinger had been appalled at the politicization of theology faculties in his native Germany and around the world, and was confident Ratzinger wouldn’t be the guy to go off half-cocked on anyone.
Despite his reputation as der Gottes rottweiler, Ratzinger was in the job precisely because John Paul II knew he would be reluctant to bite and rarely bark or even growl.. Even when CDF did censure someone under Ratzinger, it was gentle and mild—disappointingly so for many folks—and occasionally raised the profile of the censured thinker. Hans Kung is a household name largely because of the notoriety his censure brought.
Like it or not, there’s a discernible sense in which Francis is only saying the quiet part out loud.
It’s also worth saying, up front and out loud, that La Suprema—as the Dicastery formerly known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith used to be styled—couldn’t ever hope to keep every bit of heresy out of print. DDF couldn’t hope to do that with a staff a hundred times the size of its current complement.
Also, there’s a lot of not-properly-heretical dreck out there as may be somehow harmful to folks who read it, but few real people ever will, only theologians. No outfit, no matter how well funded and staffed, could possibly hope to read it all, let alone sort it. Here’s Francis, in his own words, on the task to which he would see Fernández bend himself:
[T]o verify that the documents of your own Dicastery and of the others have an adequate theological support, are coherent with the rich humus of the perennial teaching of the Church and at the same time take into account the recent Magisterium.
In real practical terms, that means the Dicastery will either jazz up whatever comes from either the DDF or the other curial departments with buzzwords drawn from Francis’s idiosyncratic lexicon, or else keep documents tied up while staffers debate whether and to what extent they are properly or sufficiently Franciscan. Either way, it isn’t going to make either DDF or the rest of the curia more efficient.
“It’s not only inserting a phrase from Pope Francis,” Fernández said in a recent exclusive with Crux, “but allowing thought to be transfigured with his criteria.” In other words: Por que non los dos?
The far more important takeaway from the letter Francis wrote to Fernández was the line about letting “discipline”—i.e. the investigation and prosecution of abuse cases—take care of itself.
I mean, I get that doctrine is important—even supremely so—but it is important in an “Is the Earth still orbiting the sun?” sort of way. The crisis of abuse and coverup in the Church—the larger and broader and deeper crisis of leadership of which the abuse and coverup crisis is only the most gruesome and appalling symptom—is more of the “Is the house on fire?” variety.
The house is on fire.
In the Crux interview, Fernández revealed that the outgoing prefect, Cardinal Luis Ladaria SJ, had told him during an ad limina visit how “disciplinary matters absorbed most of the time, and that there was hardly any time left for theology.”
Ladaria is a serious intellectual of unimpeachable orthodoxy and a fellow much beloved of students and colleagues alike at the Pontifical Gregorian University before he got the secretary’s job at the then-CDF. When Francis let Cardinal Müller go in 2017, it’s likely few were as surprised as Ladaria himself when Francis tapped him to replace the outspoken German.
Ladaria was neither trained for forensic work nor of a temperament well-suited to criminal investigation. Whatever you think of the job he’s done—and there is lots to criticize—he had a hard time of it.
Fernández does not have what one could fairly characterize as a pristine record on abuse and coverup investigation, either. So, it is neither surprising that he originally turned the job down because he felt himself ill-suited to the task of directing the disciplinary side of the office, nor shocking that Francis told him not to worry himself over that.
“[T]he Holy Father’s decision for me to concentrate on doctrinal matters in no way minimizes the importance of the fight against abuse,” Fernández told Crux. “[I]t is showing his confidence in those who know [best in these matters] so that they continue on the right path, which little by little is being consolidated.”
In his letter to Fernández, Francis says: “[A] specific Section has recently been created with very competent professionals, I ask you as prefect to dedicate your personal commitment more directly to the main purpose of the Dicastery, which is ‘keeping the faith’.”
The discipline section of DDF is overworked, underfunded, and chronically short-staffed. It has also been directly implicated in several cases that have the appearance of more than mismanagement, viz. Rupnik, and seems either incapable or unwilling to right itself on its own. Putting discipline on autopilot is not the move one would expect from a man presumably interested in getting or keeping a reputation as a forward-thinking, pro-active visionary reformer.
Maybe the heat’s gotten to all of us, Francis included.
We call them the “dog days of summer” because Sirius, the brightest star in the Canis Major constellation, rises before the sun and is visible just before dawn, beginning in the bottom of July in the northern hemisphere. Canis is Latin for dog, and the ancient Romans called these the dies caniculares—“the dog[gish] days”—and so do we.
The turn into the dog days used to mark the start of Rome’s great summer vacation—literally a mass-vacating of the city—that would leave the place mostly empty. Everyone who could get out of town did so, at least during the day. By August, the place was usually quiet, even in the evenings.
The last few years I lived there, it seemed to me that the city wasn’t as empty as it used to be in summer, not even under the mid-August feragosto holiday, the origins of which reach into Pagan antiquity. I always liked being there in feragosto, because I had the city to myself.
Fernández is slated to arrive and take up his job in September; I hope for his sake after the worst heat of the dog days has passed. Roman days are still hot in September, but the evenings are delightful.
We may be entering the twilight of the Francis pontificate. We may not be. But it’s hot out, all the time, and soon the Dog Star will rise in the small hours.
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Christopher R. Altieri is a journalist, editor and author of three books, including Reading the News Without Losing Your Faith (Catholic Truth Society, 2021). He is contributing editor to Catholic World Report.
Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 5, 2016. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
CNA Staff, Mar 13, 2024 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
March 13 marks the anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the 266th successor of St. Peter. Here is a timeline of key events during his papacy:
2013
March 13 — About two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI steps down from the papacy, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio is elected pope. He takes the papal name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and proclaims from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Let us begin this journey, the bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another.”
March 14 — The day after he begins his pontificate, Pope Francis returns to his hotel to personally pay his hotel bill and collect his luggage.
July 8 — Pope Francis visits Italy’s island of Lampedusa and meets with a group of 50 migrants, most of whom are young men from Somalia and Eritrea. The island, which is about 200 miles off the coast of Tunisia, is a common entry point for migrants who flee parts of Africa and the Middle East to enter Europe. This is the pope’s first pastoral visit outside of Rome and sets the stage for making reaching out to the peripheries a significant focus.
Pope Francis gives the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. Elise Harris/CNA.
July 23-28 — Pope Francis visits Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in World Youth Day 2013. More than 3 million people from around the world attend the event.
July 29 — On the return flight from Brazil, Pope Francis gives his first papal news conference and sparks controversy by saying “if a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” The phrase is prompted by a reporter asking the pope a question about priests who have homosexual attraction.
Nov. 24 — Pope Francis publishes his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). The document illustrates the pope’s vision for how to approach evangelization in the modern world.
2014
Feb. 22 — Pope Francis holds his first papal consistory to appoint 19 new cardinals, including ones from countries in the developing world that have never previously been represented in the College of Cardinals, such as Haiti.
March 22 — Pope Francis creates the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission works to protect the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, such as the victims of sexual abuse.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his general audience on Nov. 29, 2014. Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Oct. 5 — The Synod on the Family begins. The bishops discuss a variety of concerns, including single-parent homes, cohabitation, homosexual adoption of children, and interreligious marriages.
Dec. 6 — After facing some pushback for his efforts to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis discusses his opinion in an interview with La Nacion, an Argentine news outlet: “Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”
2015
Jan. 18 — To conclude a trip to Asia, Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Manila, Philippines. Approximately 6 million to 7 million people attend the record-setting Mass, despite heavy rain.
March 23 — Pope Francis visits Naples, Italy, to show the Church’s commitment to helping the fight against corruption and organized crime in the city.
May 24 — To emphasize the Church’s mission to combat global warming and care for the environment, Pope Francis publishes the encyclical Laudato Si’, which urges people to take care of the environment and encourages political action to address climate problems.
Pope Francis at a Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, 2015. Bohumil Petrik.
Sept. 19-22 — Pope Francis visits Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro in the first papal visit to the country since Pope John Paul II in 1998. During his homily, Francis discusses the dignity of the human person: “Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it.”
Sept. 22-27 — After departing from Cuba, Pope Francis makes his first papal visit to the United States. In Washington, D.C., he speaks to a joint session of Congress, in which he urges lawmakers to work toward promoting the common good, and canonizes the Franciscan missionary St. Junípero Serra. He also attends the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Pope Francis speaks to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 24, 2015. . L’Osservatore Romano.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis begins the second Synod on the Family to address issues within the modern family, such as single-parent homes, cohabitation, poverty, and abuse.
Oct. 18 — The pope canonizes St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin. The married couple were parents to five nuns, including St. Therese of Lisieux. They are the first married couple to be canonized together.
Dec. 8 — Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy begins. The year focuses on God’s mercy and forgiveness and people’s redemption from sin. The pope delegates certain priests in each diocese to be Missionaries of Mercy who have the authority to forgive sins that are usually reserved for the Holy See.
2016
March 19 — Pope Francis publishes the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which discusses a wide variety of issues facing the modern family based on discussions from the two synods on the family. The pope garners significant controversy from within the Church for comments he makes in Chapter 8 about Communion for the divorced and remarried.
April 16 — After visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis allows three Muslim refugee families to join him on his flight back to Rome. He says the move was not a political statement.
Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Feb. 24, 2016. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
July 26-31 — Pope Francis visits Krakow, Poland, as part of the World Youth Day festivities. About 3 million young Catholic pilgrims from around the world attend.
Sept. 4 — The pope canonizes St. Teresa of Calcutta, who is also known as Mother Teresa. The saint, a nun from Albania, dedicated her life to missionary and charity work, primarily in India.
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 — Pope Francis visits Georgia and Azerbaijan on his 16th trip outside of Rome since the start of his papacy. His trip focuses on Catholic relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to Amatrice, Italy, to pray for the victims of an earthquake in central Italy that killed nearly 300 people.
2017
May 12-13 — In another papal trip, Francis travels to Fatima, Portugal, to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. May 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Marian apparition to three children in the city.
July 11 — Pope Francis adds another category of Christian life suitable for the consideration of sainthood: “offering of life.” The category is distinct from martyrdom, which only applies to someone who is killed for his or her faith. The new category applies to those who died prematurely through an offering of their life to God and neighbor.
Pope Francis greets a participant in the World Day of the Poor in Rome, Nov. 16, 2017. L’Osservatore Romano.
Nov. 19 — On the first-ever World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis eats lunch with 4,000 poor and people in need in Rome.
Nov. 27-Dec. 2 — In another trip to Asia, Pope Francis travels to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He visits landmarks and meets with government officials, Catholic clergy, and Buddhist monks. He also preaches the Gospel and promotes peace in the region.
2018
Jan. 15-21 — The pope takes another trip to Latin America, this time visiting Chile and Peru. The pontiff meets with government officials and members of the clergy while urging the faithful to remain close to the clergy and reject secularism. The Chilean visit leads to controversy over Chilean clergy sex abuse scandals.
Aug. 2 — The Vatican formally revises No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which concerns the death penalty. The previous text suggested the death penalty could be permissible in certain circumstances, but the revision states that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”
Aug. 25 — Archbishop Carlo Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, publishes an 11-page letter calling for the resignation of Pope Francis and accusing him and other Vatican officials of covering up sexual abuse including allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The pope initially does not directly respond to the letter, but nine months after its publication he denies having prior knowledge about McCarrick’s conduct.
Aug. 25-26 — Pope Francis visits Dublin, Ireland, to attend the World Meeting of Families. The theme is “the Gospel of family, joy for the world.”
Pope Francis at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Ireland. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Oct. 3-28 — The Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment takes place. The synod focuses on best practices to teach the faith to young people and to help them discern God’s will.
2019
Jan. 22-27 — The third World Youth Day during Pope Francis’ pontificate takes place during these six days in Panama City, Panama. Young Catholics from around the world gather for the event, with approximately 3 million people in attendance.
Feb. 4 — Pope Francis signs a joint document in with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, titled the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document focuses on people of different faiths uniting together to live peacefully and advance a culture of mutual respect.
Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, signed a joint declaration on human fraternity during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 4, 2019. Vatican Media.
Feb. 21-24 — The Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, which is labeled the Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit, takes place. The meeting focuses on sexual abuse scandals in the Church and emphasizes responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Oct. 6-27 — The Church holds the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which is also known as the Amazon Synod. The synod is meant to present ways in which the Church can better evangelize the Amazon region but leads to controversy when carved images of a pregnant Amazonian woman, referred to by the pope as Pachamama, are used in several events and displayed in a basilica near the Vatican.
Oct. 13 — St. John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert to Catholicism and a cardinal, is canonized by Pope Francis. Newman’s writings inspired Catholic student associations at nonreligious colleges and universities in the United States and other countries.
2020
March 15 — Pope Francis takes a walking pilgrimage in Rome to the chapel of the crucifix and prays for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crucifix was carried through Rome during the plague of 1522.
March 27 — Pope Francis gives an extraordinary “urbi et orbi” blessing in an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter’s Square during his Urbi et Orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Vatican Media.
2021
March 5-8 — In his first papal trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis becomes the first pope to visit Iraq. On his trip, he signs a joint statement with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemning extremism and promoting peace.
July 3 — Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, is indicted in a Vatican court for embezzlement, money laundering, and other crimes. The pope gives approval for the indictment.
July 4 — Pope Francis undergoes colon surgery for diverticulitis, a common condition in older people. The Vatican releases a statement that assures the pope “reacted well” to the surgery. Francis is released from the hospital after 10 days.
July 16 — Pope Francis issues a motu proprio titled Traditionis Custodes. The document imposes heavy restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Dec. 2-6 — The pope travels to Cyprus and Greece. The trip includes another visit to the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with migrants.
Pope Francis greets His Beatitude Ieronymos II in Athens, Greece on Dec. 5, 2021. Vatican Media
2022
Jan. 11 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to a record store in Rome called StereoSound. The pope, who has an affinity for classical music, blesses the newly renovated store.
March 19 — The pope promulgates Praedicate Evangelium, which reforms the Roman Curia. The reforms emphasize evangelization and establish more opportunities for the laity to be in leadership positions.
May 5 — Pope Francis is seen in a wheelchair for the first time in public and begins to use one more frequently. The pope has been suffering from knee problems for months.
Pope Francis greeted the crowd in a wheelchair at the end of his general audience on Aug. 3, 2022. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
July 24-30 — In his first papal visit to Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the harsh treatment of the indigenous Canadians, saying many Christians and members of the Catholic Church were complicit.
2023
Jan. 31-Feb. 5 — Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. During his visit, the pope condemns political violence in the countries and promotes peace. He also participates in an ecumenical prayer service with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.
Pope Francis greets a young boy a Mass in Juba, South Sudan on Feb. 5, 2023. Vatican Media
March 29-April 1 — Pope Francis is hospitalized for a respiratory infection. During his stay at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, he visits the pediatric cancer ward and baptizes a newborn baby.
April 5 — The pope appears in the Disney documentary “The Pope: Answers,” which is in Spanish, answering six “hot-button” issues from members of Gen Z from various backgrounds. The group discusses immigration, depression, abortion, clergy sexual and psychological abuse, transgenderism, pornography, and loss of faith.
April 28-30 — Pope Francis visits Hungary to meet with government officials, civil society members, bishops, priests, seminarians, Jesuits, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers. He celebrates Mass on the final day of the trip in Kossuth Lajos Square.
Pope Francis stands on an altar erected outside the Parliament Building in Budapest’s Kossuth Lajos’ Square during a public outdoor Mass on April 30, 2023. Vatican Media
June 7 — The Vatican announces that Pope Francis will undergo abdominal surgery that afternoon under general anesthesia due to a hernia that is causing painful, recurring, and worsening symptoms. In his general audience that morning before the surgery, Francis says he intends to publish an apostolic letter on St. Thérèse of Lisieux, “patroness of the missions,” to mark the 150th anniversary of her birth.
June 15 — After successful surgery and a week of recovery, Pope Francis is released from Gemelli Hospital.
Aug. 2-6 — Pope Francis travels to Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day 2023, taking place from Aug. 1-6. He meets with Church and civil leaders ahead of presiding at the welcoming Mass and Stations of the Cross. He also hears the confessions of several pilgrims. On Aug. 5, he visits the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, where he prays the rosary with young people with disabilities. That evening he presides over the vigil and on Sunday, Aug. 6, he celebrates the closing Mass, where he urges the 1.5 million young people present to “be not afraid,” echoing the words of the founder of World Youth Days, St. John Paul II.
Pope Francis waves at the crowd of 1.5 million people who attended the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal on Aug. 6, 2023. Vatican Media.
Aug. 31-Sept. 4 — Pope Francis travels to Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country. The trip makes Francis the first pope to visit the Asian country that shares a 2,880-mile border with China, its most significant economic partner. Mongolia has a population of about 1,300 Catholics in a country of more than 3 million people.
Pope Francis meets with local priests and religious of Mongolia, which includes only 25 priests (19 religious and six diocesan), 33 women religious, and one bishop — Cardinal Giorgio Marengo — in Ulaanbaatar’s Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on Sept. 2, 2023. Credit: Vatican Media
Sept. 22-23 — On a two-day trip to Marseille, France, Pope Francis meets with local civil and religious leaders and participates in the Mediterranean Encounter, a gathering of some 120 young people of various creeds with bishops from 30 countries.
Pope Francis asks for a moment of silence at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea on the first of a two-day visit to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023. A Camargue cross, which comes from the Camargue area of France, represents the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. The three tridents represent faith, the anchor represents hope, and the heart represents charity. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Oct. 4-29 — The Vatican hosts the first of two monthlong global assemblies of the Synod on Synodality, initiated by Pope Francis in 2021 to enhance the communion, participation, and mission of the Church. Pope Francis celebrates the closing Mass of the synod at St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29. The second and final global assembly will take place at the Vatican in October 2024.
Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. Vatican Media
Nov. 25 — Pope Francis visits the hospital briefly for precautionary testing after coming down with the flu earlier in the day. Although he still participates in scheduled activities, other officials read his prepared remarks. The Vatican on Nov. 28 cancels the pope’s planned Dec. 1–3 trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate conference, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech, due to his illness.
Dec. 18 — The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issues the declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which authorizes nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples and couples in “irregular situations.” Various bishops from around the world voice both support for and criticism of the document.
2024
Jan. 4 — Amid widespread backlash to Fiducia Supplicans, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, publishes a five-page press release that refers to Fiducia Supplicans as “perennial doctrine” and underlines that pastoral blessings of couples in irregular situations should not be “an endorsement of the life led by those who request them.”
Jan. 14 — Pope Francis for the first time responds publicly to questions about Fiducia Supplicans in an interview on an Italian television show. The pope underlines that “the Lord blesses everyone” and that a blessing is an invitation to enter into a conversation “to see what the road is that the Lord proposes to them.”
Feb. 11 — In a ceremony attended by Argentine president Javier Milei, Pope Francis canonizes María Antonia of St. Joseph — known affectionately in the pope’s home country as “Mama Antula” — in a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. The president and the former archbishop of Buenos Aires embrace after the ceremony. Pope Francis, who has not returned to his homeland since becoming pope in 2013, has said he wants to visit Argentina in the second half of this year.
Pope Francis meets with Argentina President Javier Milei in a private audience on Feb. 12, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Feb. 28 — After canceling audiences the previous Saturday and having an aide read his prepared remarks at his Wednesday audience due to a “mild flu,” Pope Francis visits the hospital for diagnostic tests but returns to the Vatican afterward.
March 2 — Despite having an aide read his speech “because of bronchitis,” the pope presides over the inauguration of the 95th Judicial Year of the Vatican City State and maintains a full schedule.
March 13 — Pope Francis celebrates 11 years as Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
A pundit once claimed that all politics is local. I acknowledge that our Catholic Church is hierarchical. But I am, at the same time, a notorious proponent of the notion of subsidiarity. I care little about what Pontiff Francis says, where he goes and who he invites for lunch. I care little about what the CDF says or does. I care even less what a bunch of people gathered under the banner of Synodadolotry say as it amounts to nothing more than Synod Babble and a recrudescense of the original Tower of Bable.
I am coming to appreciate more and more my local Church as the core of my religion. I will seek out and practice my faith among those Catholics who I believe share in a common orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Getting back to the comparison with politics, I’m less and less concerned with who gets elected president than I am with who gets elected to the local town council, the local school board and to local judgeships. I’m more concerned about electing honest and Constitution-abiding State reps than what goes on in Washington. Similarly, I am more concerned with who my pastor is and that he faithfully reflects all that the Catholic faith professes and believes and leads fellow parishioners in following Christ crucified for our sins. The Vatican is driving itself into irrelevancy these days – no less so that Washington DC. Top-heavy bureaucratic structures are destined for their eventual demise because they are unmanageable.
Regarding doctrine, we read: “the house is on fire.” So, let the earth continue to orbit meaningless around the sun…
But wait–does the fireman negotiate with the fire? Does the fireman only conduct a synodal block party, such that doctrine can deferred to whomever, and who by signaling and omission can replace a doctrinal sin-thesis with a focus group “synthesis”? And, is the gravity of weighty questions now to be upstaged by mere disciplinary decisions?
After all, Cardinal Tagle is Fernandez’s counterpart within the DDF, and is well-positioned on the doctrinal side of the divided house to continue to waffle on such doctrinal issues as homosexual activity and clarity on marriage stuff, like sequential bigamy. The Vatican game-board is about strategy and chess, not about the simple give and take of narrow-focus checkers.
Fernandez is in one silo for show time, and doctrine is segregated into the second silo under Cardinal Tagle, who likely might defer silently to polyglot synodality as the heir-apparent/post-Catholic Defender of the Faith.
It worked for the monarch Henry VIII, so what the hell. Today, an inverted-pyramid (c)hurch.
Regarding doctrine, we read: “the house is on fire.” But, not to worry, the world still orbits around the sun.
So, Fernandez can stick to disciplinary stuff. But wait, there’s more! The DDF now is divided into two silos, and the doctrinal side belongs to Cardinal Tagle, who then is likely to continue to cater to the homosexual narrative and novelties related to the indissolubility of marriage. On these matters he might even defer in silence to a divided synodality which is set to replace a “traditional” and doctrinal sin-thesis with a progressive and block-party “synthesis.” Not the monarchic Henry VIII this time around, but an up-to-date and inverted pyramid!
Doctrinal matters might even be cross-dressed to look like only disciplinary matters. So, contexting the Fernandez appointment, Vatican musical chairs is not one-move-at-a-time. Chess, not checkers!
Sorry about the redundancy; a screen message said that my first post didn’t go through. But, as long as I’m hogging the website electrons, here’s an additional thought…
It is asked, what does Pope Francis mean in his letter when he asks Archbishop/now Cardinal Fernandez (new head of the disciplinary half of the Dicastery on Christian Doctrine) to square the circle: to sustain “…the rich humus of the perennial teaching of the Church [Cardinal Tagle’s silo] and at the same time take into account the recent Magisterium.”
Not merely a hint toward discerning blessings of gay marriages, but maybe something much more omnivorous from a redefined and fully “welcoming” Church? Boundary-free–and clericalist! –disciplinary “decisions” under Fernandez?
And, no longer this from St. Paul on matters which are BOTH disciplinary AND doctrinal (as with the Eucharistic Church, itself, and as with moral theology!):
“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord (1 Cor 11:27). So, porously, what does it really mean, a “welcoming” redefinition of the Church?—first with Pach-a-mama and soon (?) with Mock-a-Papa?
“Be not deceived, God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7).
“T]o verify that the documents of your own Dicastery and of the others have an adequate theological support, are coherent with the rich humus of the perennial teaching of the Church and at the same time take into account the recent Magisterium.” What hubris!
To begin with, the “recent Magisterium” is so incoherent and disconnected from “the rich humus of the perennial teaching of Church” as to be laughable if it were not so serious, as for example:
The Abu Dhabi statement that all heretical “religions” are willed by God; “who am I to judge” stated with incomplete context so as to mislead; patchamama pagan idol venerated in the Vatican; promotion of civil unions for same-sex couples, promotion of the Eucharist for those in an objective state of mortal sin, etc. These “recent Magisterium” offenses are all violations of God’s law and “the rich humus of the perennial teaching of the Church.”
thank you Maggie, and all these heresies are swept under the rug while Bergoglio without any opposition from the present day apostles makes ready for the death blow against the Truth of Christ in defiance and rebellion against God. Come LORD JESUS CHRIST to the rescue of your holy bride.
Correct me if I misunderstand, but perhaps the new Dicastery for the Doctrine of Fernandez (DDF) can help us better synodal this October? And with the name change, we will never need to think that the DDF is in hermeneutical continuity with the CDF of the Church before Pope Francis. More, perhaps simply reading the poetry of the new Prefect will teach us all we need to handle Rupnik and Zanchetta? Ah, synodaling is such a pleasure.
Crusader, you are clearly a rigid Catholic and deserve to be cancel-cultured by Bergoglioism along with the remnant of the Divine Institution. Truth is today relative, and the only thing that counts is human fraternity of the Argentinian masonic kind. The new source of Revelation- The Masonic Spirit of our long awaited age – is the only truth Synodal Rupture requires. Get with it or go find one of those extremist, nostalgic groups that still believe in the rigid old-fashioned “Catholic Truth”.
Sexual organs are not a far away sidelines to theological and dogmatic purity matters, they are at the very center of them. Sexual organs are theological and dogmatic organs, as all the effect and efficacy for us of the Revelation in Christ, all legitimate theology and dogmas depend in our holy or unholy use of these organs. God created, designed and gave us those sexual organs to keep us directly connected to Reality, to Himself, and to all Beauty, Truth and Love.
This permeates the whole body in every cell, mind, heart, soul and spirit and so much so, that the accidentally, criminally or ideologically castrated don’t lose this blessed connection. Jesus obviously had sexual organs and they are with him in Heaven forever. Think about that. Altieri here uses his usual novelistic style to create a dichotomy an to say that the clerical sexual abuse deserves more attention while ignoring that that abuse came from the core homosexual dichotomy against Reality, God, Dogma, and True Goodness, Beauty, Love and Truth, written in our very DNA. Change Altieri’s “don’t worry,
we’ll focus on the abuse” for “Resist and stay faithful to God’s Truth in everything and all the way back to your sexual organs”. Doing otherwise, we become enablers and empower the enthronement of the diabolical abusers.
“Hans Kung is a household name largely because of the notoriety his censure brought.”
No. Perhaps Mr. Altieri is too young to know (in which case he should have the humility not to make such a statement) but I am old enough to remember that Kung’s “The Church” (Das Kirch) was sold in most Catholic and many secular bookstores. He was quite broadly known before the censure, which made the censure necessary (this is not to say that Das Kirch was itself necessarily one of the problematic texts. I don’t recall it being so when I read it but memory may fail me.)
If I may help translate, ma chere padre, please let us note some Scriptural references. Isaiah 14:12, Revelation 22:16, and 2Peter 1:19 all mention or allude to Lucifer as the bright/est star. As Sirius is the brightest star in the canine constellation, as Lucifer was in the heavens, so Fernandez is to Francis’ pontificate. Also, hell is hot as Rome is hot in August and perhaps until October. Or until morning turns to evening or truth becomes false.
Cardinal Fernandez, please do not judge me for asking a question:
Is it intrinsically (always and in every circumstance and situation) wrong to violate God’s negative prohibition to judge others, like Rupnik or Zanchetta?
If yes, why do you teach that it can be good to violate God’s other negative prohibitions to commit intrinsically evil acts, like taking a concubine, using artificial contraception or blessing homosexual unions, etc?
If no, I could be right to judge you for teaching others to act against God’s law.
Synodaling is such fun.
The precept proscribes judging souls, not behavior. It is never wrong to judge evil behavior, or even stupid behavior, both of which have been very public in the life of the Cardinal. (and myself)
“The far more important takeaway from the letter Francis wrote to Fernández was the line about letting “discipline”—i.e. the investigation and prosecution of abuse cases—take care of itself.”
What Pope Francis means, is let his new Synodal lbgt morality take care of the the great Catholic clergy sex offender problem, by making lbgt man-boy-lover sex now moral in the Catholic Church. Catholic Synodal leaders see sex offender priests as the victims.
The Vatican Synod on Synodality speaks nothing about the great Catholic clergy scandal of child sex offender Priests. The Vatican does not reprimand Joe Biden for giving the lbgt man-boy-lovers the right to marry, or Joe Biden working hard on giving the lbgt man-boy-lovers the ability to modify children’s genitals. Helping Catholic clergy sex offender Priests avoid justice and continue having sex with children is what the Vatican means by ‘radical inclusion’.
German Bishop Must Face Vatican Investigation, Abuse Council Demands
“we still perceive in the actions of Bishop Bode a more perpetrator-oriented than victim-oriented attitude,” the victims’ advisory council said on Monday.”
“Several prominent German prelates have been accused of mishandling cases of sexual abuse. They include Synodal Way initiator Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Synodal Way president Bishop Georg Bätzing — the successor to Marx as president of the bishops’ conference — and Hamburg’s Archbishop Heße. All of them have so far remained in office.”
Cardinal Fernandez is too modest when he says that his book Heal Me with Your Mouth is not high level theology. It is well researched! After all, he confessed that he interviewed over a thousand young adults about kissing. My guess is that not even former Cardinal McCarrick talked to so many young people. Having said this, the Pope is probably right that Cardinal Fernandez is unqualified to deal with discipline cases. He is far too merciful. But let no one say that Tucho is not an expert on what young people and sex. He’s lit. Synodalling is so yeet.
Five years after the McCarrick scandal, as the Church continues to be impeded by its ability to teach a world that needs that teaching because of those scandals, Francis gives us a thin-skinned DDS Prefect about whose theological orthodoxy and profundity there is doubt AND then expects the disciplinary section of DDS to run on auto-pilot. I’m not surprised: Francis has been far more talk than action on the sex abuse crisis, witness the sorry dance between the Apostolic Palace, Roman congregations, and the Jesuit Curia about “what do you do with a problem like Marko?”
Ma che sta di’…che pazzia…
A pundit once claimed that all politics is local. I acknowledge that our Catholic Church is hierarchical. But I am, at the same time, a notorious proponent of the notion of subsidiarity. I care little about what Pontiff Francis says, where he goes and who he invites for lunch. I care little about what the CDF says or does. I care even less what a bunch of people gathered under the banner of Synodadolotry say as it amounts to nothing more than Synod Babble and a recrudescense of the original Tower of Bable.
I am coming to appreciate more and more my local Church as the core of my religion. I will seek out and practice my faith among those Catholics who I believe share in a common orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Getting back to the comparison with politics, I’m less and less concerned with who gets elected president than I am with who gets elected to the local town council, the local school board and to local judgeships. I’m more concerned about electing honest and Constitution-abiding State reps than what goes on in Washington. Similarly, I am more concerned with who my pastor is and that he faithfully reflects all that the Catholic faith professes and believes and leads fellow parishioners in following Christ crucified for our sins. The Vatican is driving itself into irrelevancy these days – no less so that Washington DC. Top-heavy bureaucratic structures are destined for their eventual demise because they are unmanageable.
Regarding doctrine, we read: “the house is on fire.” So, let the earth continue to orbit meaningless around the sun…
But wait–does the fireman negotiate with the fire? Does the fireman only conduct a synodal block party, such that doctrine can deferred to whomever, and who by signaling and omission can replace a doctrinal sin-thesis with a focus group “synthesis”? And, is the gravity of weighty questions now to be upstaged by mere disciplinary decisions?
After all, Cardinal Tagle is Fernandez’s counterpart within the DDF, and is well-positioned on the doctrinal side of the divided house to continue to waffle on such doctrinal issues as homosexual activity and clarity on marriage stuff, like sequential bigamy. The Vatican game-board is about strategy and chess, not about the simple give and take of narrow-focus checkers.
Fernandez is in one silo for show time, and doctrine is segregated into the second silo under Cardinal Tagle, who likely might defer silently to polyglot synodality as the heir-apparent/post-Catholic Defender of the Faith.
It worked for the monarch Henry VIII, so what the hell. Today, an inverted-pyramid (c)hurch.
The house *is* on fire!
And Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández has arrived with his tanker of gasoline, just in time for the Synod on Synodality.
What could possibly go wrong?
Regarding doctrine, we read: “the house is on fire.” But, not to worry, the world still orbits around the sun.
So, Fernandez can stick to disciplinary stuff. But wait, there’s more! The DDF now is divided into two silos, and the doctrinal side belongs to Cardinal Tagle, who then is likely to continue to cater to the homosexual narrative and novelties related to the indissolubility of marriage. On these matters he might even defer in silence to a divided synodality which is set to replace a “traditional” and doctrinal sin-thesis with a progressive and block-party “synthesis.” Not the monarchic Henry VIII this time around, but an up-to-date and inverted pyramid!
Doctrinal matters might even be cross-dressed to look like only disciplinary matters. So, contexting the Fernandez appointment, Vatican musical chairs is not one-move-at-a-time. Chess, not checkers!
Butt, does the fireman negotiate with the fire?
Sorry about the redundancy; a screen message said that my first post didn’t go through. But, as long as I’m hogging the website electrons, here’s an additional thought…
It is asked, what does Pope Francis mean in his letter when he asks Archbishop/now Cardinal Fernandez (new head of the disciplinary half of the Dicastery on Christian Doctrine) to square the circle: to sustain “…the rich humus of the perennial teaching of the Church [Cardinal Tagle’s silo] and at the same time take into account the recent Magisterium.”
Not merely a hint toward discerning blessings of gay marriages, but maybe something much more omnivorous from a redefined and fully “welcoming” Church? Boundary-free–and clericalist! –disciplinary “decisions” under Fernandez?
And, no longer this from St. Paul on matters which are BOTH disciplinary AND doctrinal (as with the Eucharistic Church, itself, and as with moral theology!):
“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord (1 Cor 11:27). So, porously, what does it really mean, a “welcoming” redefinition of the Church?—first with Pach-a-mama and soon (?) with Mock-a-Papa?
“Be not deceived, God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7).
“T]o verify that the documents of your own Dicastery and of the others have an adequate theological support, are coherent with the rich humus of the perennial teaching of the Church and at the same time take into account the recent Magisterium.” What hubris!
To begin with, the “recent Magisterium” is so incoherent and disconnected from “the rich humus of the perennial teaching of Church” as to be laughable if it were not so serious, as for example:
The Abu Dhabi statement that all heretical “religions” are willed by God; “who am I to judge” stated with incomplete context so as to mislead; patchamama pagan idol venerated in the Vatican; promotion of civil unions for same-sex couples, promotion of the Eucharist for those in an objective state of mortal sin, etc. These “recent Magisterium” offenses are all violations of God’s law and “the rich humus of the perennial teaching of the Church.”
thank you Maggie, and all these heresies are swept under the rug while Bergoglio without any opposition from the present day apostles makes ready for the death blow against the Truth of Christ in defiance and rebellion against God. Come LORD JESUS CHRIST to the rescue of your holy bride.
Correct me if I misunderstand, but perhaps the new Dicastery for the Doctrine of Fernandez (DDF) can help us better synodal this October? And with the name change, we will never need to think that the DDF is in hermeneutical continuity with the CDF of the Church before Pope Francis. More, perhaps simply reading the poetry of the new Prefect will teach us all we need to handle Rupnik and Zanchetta? Ah, synodaling is such a pleasure.
Doctrines = Truths. Truth either matters or it doesn’t. I believe that it does.
Crusader, you are clearly a rigid Catholic and deserve to be cancel-cultured by Bergoglioism along with the remnant of the Divine Institution. Truth is today relative, and the only thing that counts is human fraternity of the Argentinian masonic kind. The new source of Revelation- The Masonic Spirit of our long awaited age – is the only truth Synodal Rupture requires. Get with it or go find one of those extremist, nostalgic groups that still believe in the rigid old-fashioned “Catholic Truth”.
Sexual organs are not a far away sidelines to theological and dogmatic purity matters, they are at the very center of them. Sexual organs are theological and dogmatic organs, as all the effect and efficacy for us of the Revelation in Christ, all legitimate theology and dogmas depend in our holy or unholy use of these organs. God created, designed and gave us those sexual organs to keep us directly connected to Reality, to Himself, and to all Beauty, Truth and Love.
This permeates the whole body in every cell, mind, heart, soul and spirit and so much so, that the accidentally, criminally or ideologically castrated don’t lose this blessed connection. Jesus obviously had sexual organs and they are with him in Heaven forever. Think about that. Altieri here uses his usual novelistic style to create a dichotomy an to say that the clerical sexual abuse deserves more attention while ignoring that that abuse came from the core homosexual dichotomy against Reality, God, Dogma, and True Goodness, Beauty, Love and Truth, written in our very DNA. Change Altieri’s “don’t worry,
we’ll focus on the abuse” for “Resist and stay faithful to God’s Truth in everything and all the way back to your sexual organs”. Doing otherwise, we become enablers and empower the enthronement of the diabolical abusers.
“Hans Kung is a household name largely because of the notoriety his censure brought.”
No. Perhaps Mr. Altieri is too young to know (in which case he should have the humility not to make such a statement) but I am old enough to remember that Kung’s “The Church” (Das Kirch) was sold in most Catholic and many secular bookstores. He was quite broadly known before the censure, which made the censure necessary (this is not to say that Das Kirch was itself necessarily one of the problematic texts. I don’t recall it being so when I read it but memory may fail me.)
Funny you should mention Kung, I literally saw one of his books in a bargain bin at my local theological bookstore.
Mark,
My recollection of Hans Kung’s popularity before the censure matches yours. Thank you for the reality check.
All of his stupid and blatantly heretical books were problematic.
If I may help translate, ma chere padre, please let us note some Scriptural references. Isaiah 14:12, Revelation 22:16, and 2Peter 1:19 all mention or allude to Lucifer as the bright/est star. As Sirius is the brightest star in the canine constellation, as Lucifer was in the heavens, so Fernandez is to Francis’ pontificate. Also, hell is hot as Rome is hot in August and perhaps until October. Or until morning turns to evening or truth becomes false.
Cardinal Fernandez, please do not judge me for asking a question:
Is it intrinsically (always and in every circumstance and situation) wrong to violate God’s negative prohibition to judge others, like Rupnik or Zanchetta?
If yes, why do you teach that it can be good to violate God’s other negative prohibitions to commit intrinsically evil acts, like taking a concubine, using artificial contraception or blessing homosexual unions, etc?
If no, I could be right to judge you for teaching others to act against God’s law.
Synodaling is such fun.
The precept proscribes judging souls, not behavior. It is never wrong to judge evil behavior, or even stupid behavior, both of which have been very public in the life of the Cardinal. (and myself)
“The far more important takeaway from the letter Francis wrote to Fernández was the line about letting “discipline”—i.e. the investigation and prosecution of abuse cases—take care of itself.”
What Pope Francis means, is let his new Synodal lbgt morality take care of the the great Catholic clergy sex offender problem, by making lbgt man-boy-lover sex now moral in the Catholic Church. Catholic Synodal leaders see sex offender priests as the victims.
The Vatican Synod on Synodality speaks nothing about the great Catholic clergy scandal of child sex offender Priests. The Vatican does not reprimand Joe Biden for giving the lbgt man-boy-lovers the right to marry, or Joe Biden working hard on giving the lbgt man-boy-lovers the ability to modify children’s genitals. Helping Catholic clergy sex offender Priests avoid justice and continue having sex with children is what the Vatican means by ‘radical inclusion’.
German Bishop Must Face Vatican Investigation, Abuse Council Demands
“we still perceive in the actions of Bishop Bode a more perpetrator-oriented than victim-oriented attitude,” the victims’ advisory council said on Monday.”
“Several prominent German prelates have been accused of mishandling cases of sexual abuse. They include Synodal Way initiator Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Synodal Way president Bishop Georg Bätzing — the successor to Marx as president of the bishops’ conference — and Hamburg’s Archbishop Heße. All of them have so far remained in office.”
Hello CWR, please add link to the quote at the end of my comment above.
https://www.ncregister.com/cna/german-bishop-must-face-vatican-investigation-abuse-council-demands?
Cardinal Fernandez is too modest when he says that his book Heal Me with Your Mouth is not high level theology. It is well researched! After all, he confessed that he interviewed over a thousand young adults about kissing. My guess is that not even former Cardinal McCarrick talked to so many young people. Having said this, the Pope is probably right that Cardinal Fernandez is unqualified to deal with discipline cases. He is far too merciful. But let no one say that Tucho is not an expert on what young people and sex. He’s lit. Synodalling is so yeet.
“The new Dicastery for the Doctrine of Fernandez (DDF)”. Special thanks to “God’s Fool”.
Five years after the McCarrick scandal, as the Church continues to be impeded by its ability to teach a world that needs that teaching because of those scandals, Francis gives us a thin-skinned DDS Prefect about whose theological orthodoxy and profundity there is doubt AND then expects the disciplinary section of DDS to run on auto-pilot. I’m not surprised: Francis has been far more talk than action on the sex abuse crisis, witness the sorry dance between the Apostolic Palace, Roman congregations, and the Jesuit Curia about “what do you do with a problem like Marko?”
https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=59222
https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=59236
More heroic scholarship to add to the study of Amoris Laetitia.
https://www.tradimentodellasanadottrina.it/en/libro/